Miss May
by SamJackBC
Summary: Gail and Holly have been together for a number of months, but when Gail goes looking under Holly's bed she finds something that surprises her...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. This is just a short little story that was hanging round in my head and had to be written down. It's actually a one shot, though I've split it into chapters because it just seemed to work with certain moments in the story! Don't worry though, no cliffhangers; this is a happy bit of fluff! Established relationship, no angst, no San Francisco or adoptions. We can but dream. Hope you enjoy. **

Holly walked round the house, turning off lights and making sure the doors were locked, humming softly under her breath as she did so. She was feeling exceptionally pleased with herself. Earlier that evening, she had entered the lion's den and lived to tell the tale. She had bitten the bullet, faced the music, conquered the demon, survived the apocalypse...tonight, Holly had attended her first Peck family dinner.

Throughout the past seven or eight months that the two of them had been together, Gail had been desperately putting Elaine off. However they had finally been cornered into going; much to Gail's disgust and Holly's trepidation. Despite the dire warnings that she had received beforehand from Gail, Steve, and even Tracy, Holly thought the meal had gone pretty well. She had impressed Elaine right from the get go with her choice of wine, and she had successfully fended off any interrogation attempts whilst still been polite and friendly. Elaine had been very complimentary of Holly's work on a recent triple shooting andwas even interested in her latest journal that was soon to be published. She had gotten on famously with Bill, bonding over a shared love of jazz and ice hockey.

Holly would have been content to escape with all of that, but as she and Gail said their goodbyes and made their way through the hallway, she spotted a framed family portrait hung on the wall. It showed a teenage Gail, stood rigidly alongside her parents and her brother who was in full dress uniform. Holly stopped to take a look and Elaine noticed her curiosity of course.

"It's a lovely picture isn't it? That was the day Steven graduated from the Academy" she told Holly.

"Yes, it is," Holly agreed, although privately she thought the shot was a little too stiff. "I've never seen any pictures of Gail when she was younger," she commented casually.

Elaine pounced on that one. "Oh Dr. Stewart, I must show you my album then! I have lots of pictures of Gail growing up!"

Holly could only nod as Elaine bustled upstairs before returning with a large leather bound photo album. From all she knew of Gail's mother, Elaine didn't seem the sentimental type and Holly was frankly surprised she kept a family photo album. Gail's strangled groan of horror didn't escape Holly's hearing and she glanced over at her girlfriend who looked as though she wanted to sprint out of the door.

Holly grinned at her, waggling her eyebrows to try and tell Gail to lighten up a bit. Everyone had embarrassing baby photos at their parents' house! As Elaine flicked through the album, talking Holly through the photos though, she soon realised this was no ordinary album. The shots were all very formal and severe, posed for official photographers at various events over the last thirty years. There was a tiny Gail, no more than four or five years old, sat on her mother's knee with Steve and Bill stood either side in what appeared to be Elaine's office. Elaine told Holly it was after a promotion. The photos fast forwarded through the years and events; Gail at age eight saluting in the background as her mother greeted the Chief of Police, then at eleven posing with the family at an awards ceremony. The Pecks at the Commissioner's Gala dinner where the fourteen year old Gail grimaced at the camera from under her jet black hair. Elaine couldn't help commenting on Gail's "gothic phase" as she showed Holly that one. There was even Gail's high school graduation, Bill looking proud as punch, Steve grinning like an idiot and Elaine standing tall and staring steadily at the camera.

Holly enjoyed seeing her girlfriend grow up though the photographs (and secretly thought Goth Gail was hilarious) but altogether she found the album a little bit strange. It wasn't at all like the ones she knew her own parents kept, with candid shots of Holly and her siblings running round their garden or ripping open birthday presents.

Still, it was another little insight into her girlfriend's life, and Holly loved putting the pieces of Gail's jigsaw together. And it seemed that Elaine approved of Holly, which was a start. Holly grinned at herself in the bathroom mirror. She had passed the meet the parents test! She quickly brushed her teeth and strolled through to the bedroom to search out her girlfriend who had been suspiciously quiet since they had returned to Holly's home half an hour ago.

The lump in the centre of Holly's bed explained Gail's disappearance. The blonde was rolled up in the bed sheets, her head buried under a pillow. Holly approached with caution and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey gorgeous. Whatcha doing?" she asked, softly.

"I am waiting for the ground to open up and swallow me Holly. I'm just going to lie here and wait. It's going to happen anytime soon. You should probably move away, in case you fall in too," came the muffled reply.

Holly smothered a grin. She knew Gail had been embarrassed by the pictures; her face had gone an interesting shade of crimson and once Elaine had reached the last picture, she had practically dragged Holly out of the door. "Come on Gail, it wasn't that bad..." she wheedled, tickling the duvet lump where she assumed Gail's ribs were.

Gail flipped herself over and pulled the pillow away from her face to stare at the brunette. "Are you kidding me? It was horrific!" she said, groaning.

"Hey, it was nowhere near as bad as you thought it was going to be. She didn't try to push you into the detective rotation, she didn't ask to see proof of my qualifications..."

"Holly!" Gail interrupted, as she wrestled with the bed sheets. "My mother liked you! You impressed her!"

Holly was confused. "Right. Isn't that a good thing?" she asked, reaching out to untangle Gail from the knotted sheets.

"Noooooooo!" wailed the blonde. "That means she will keep inviting us back!"

Gail's torso finally popped out of the sheet, and she sat up, looking at her girlfriend which such a mournful expression that Holly couldn't help but laugh. She leant over and placed a soft kiss on Gail's pouting lips.

"It's ok, Honey. We can come up with a list of excuses, get Steve involved, co-ordinate our defences. In fact, I could just really piss her off next time?" Holly suggested, trying to placate her girlfriend. She kissed her again, and then moved her lips along Gail's jaw line.

Gail sighed and tilted her head to give Holly better access. "Mmmm. No, Nerd. It's good that they like you, of course it is," she said, truthfully. She was glad that her parents had seemed to get on so well with Holly. As much as she had insisted she didn't care what the Pecks thought, she would have been devastated if her parents hadn't accepted her relationship with Holly. Even so, the photos were a step too far. "But Holly, she showed you the family album!" Gail flopped back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands.

Holly lay down next to the police officer, and stroked her fingers up and down Gail's forearm. "Well I liked seeing you as a kid", she said with a smile. "You were adorable, Gail."

"I was not," Gail stated, lifting one hand to glare at Holly.

"Sure you were!" Holly laughed. "Even when you were mean and moody, with your jet black hair and clothes, you were still cute!"

"Stewart, you and I are going to fall out," Gail warned. "Those photos are not cute. Those photos are hideous. They're forced and fake; one boring police event after another. We look like a poster campaign from the force's recruitment office,"

Holly had to agree with her girlfriend, "Well, they are a little formal I suppose."

"They're plastic, Holly. I hate them. Why can't my family be normal and just show my new girlfriend some picture of me naked in the bath or something?"

"We could get naked in the bath now instead, if that would cheer you up?" Holly said, brightly. She took Gail's hand off her face and kissed her palm, shuffling her body closer to her girlfriend and putting her arm round her waist.

"Nothing will cheer me up Holly. I'm too depressed that you have seen the evidence of my family's weirdness and my horribly awkward teenage self," Gail's replied in a dejected voice.

Holly tightened her grip on the blonde. Gail was being overly dramatic, of course she was, but she also knew that Gail was insecure about her family and childhood. Ok so the photo album had been a little weird. But Holly wasn't sorry that she'd seen it. "You know, the fact that your mother has saved all those photos and put them together in an album shows that she really cares about you and Steve. And that she's proud of you," she told her girlfriend.

"I think it's more like those types of photos feed her illusion of the perfect family. Something to show off to the top brass,"

"How many people has she shown that book too?" Holly asked, with a flash of intuition.

Gail paused to think before answering, "I don't know. None of my ex boyfriends have seen it. And I don't remember any of my parents' friends seeing it either."

"Well there you go then. It's not for political posturing; she cares about those photos,"

"Hmmm. Maybe," Gail replied. She frowned, wondering why her mother had chosen to suddenly make the album public. Was it her way of saying she approved of Holly? Or was it a warning of some sort?

Holly spotted the frown, and tried to kiss it away to pull Gail out of her funk. "Come on, Baby," she whispered softly into her girlfriend's ear. "Isn't there anything I can do to cheer you up?" she asked, slipping her hand across Gail's abdomen and drawing small circles over her hip bones. She nuzzled into Gail's neck, pressing her lips just underneath her ear.

Gail felt herself responding to Holly's touch, despite her lingering embarrassment. She hated that Holly had seen her mother's weird collection of family photos, but her girlfriend didn't seem to be freaked by it. Though Gail still thought it was crazy that Elaine had never showed the pictures to anyone she had bought home before. And actually, she herself had met Holly's family a couple of times now and had never seen any baby photos of her girlfriend. Holly's parents were far more emotional than her own family, the sort of family who kept photos of their children on the walls, never mind in albums. In fact, that gave her a thought. She turned onto her side to face Holly.

"Do you know what Nerd, there is something you can do. You can show me yours!" she said

Holly grinned, her mind clearly still elsewhere. "Show you what now?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Photos," Gail stated. "I want to see your old photos!"

Holly stared at her. That wasn't quite what she had been insinuating, and she was pretty sure that their evening could be better spent. She tried to put Gail off.

"I don't think I have any here Gail, they're probably at my parents," she said, nibbling at Gail's earlobe.

Gail nudged her girlfriend backwards so she could look at her directly. She was a police officer; she could smell a cover story a mile off. "Oh please. You're one of those sappy, sentimental types Holly Stewart. Plus you're a geek. You probably stuck all your photos into albums in date order, then made a database to cross reference them according to subject matter," she said.

Holly rolled her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong, Peck," she drawled. She trailed her hand up Gail's side and tugged her closer, trying to press her lips against the blonde's.

Gail lifted a hand and put her fingers against Holly's lips. "Prove it," she told her.

"Hmm. I can't. My photographs are definitely all at my parents," Holly replied, kissing Gail's fingertips.

"Don't believe you," Gail stated firmly. "Come on Lunchbox, you've got to do better than that."

Holly pulled a face, and bit the tip of Gail's index finger before flopping back onto the bed. She gave up. Clearly Gail wasn't going to let her get out of this, and the faster she saw the pictures, the sooner they could carry on with Holly's other plans. "Green box, under the bed," she said.

Gail crowed in triumph, and rolled out from under the covers, dropping off the side of the bed to scrabble underneath.

"Did you just yelp?" Holly asked, hoping to wind Gail up a little. When no reply came, she shrugged her shoulders and picked up one of the journals from her bedside table. If Gail was busy, at least she could get a little reading in. She quickly got lost in the first page and therefore ignored the large green crate that was dumped unceremoniously on the other side of the bed. Gail's head popped up behind it as the blonde knelt on the floor and started to rip the packing tape away from the cardboard.

"Oh my God," Gail exclaimed, when the flipped the lid open. Inside the box was a jumbled mess; wallets of developed films from various processing companies, photo CDs with scrawled labels and hundreds of loose shots scattered amongst it all. "Dr Stewart, this is a disgrace!"

"Told you," Holly smirked. "Never got around to organising those," she said, before turning back to her journal.

Gail's attention was already elsewhere however. She grabbed a handful of photos and flicked through them, staring wide eyed as her girlfriends face skipped back and forth through various ages. This first batch all seemed to be of a teenage Holly, laughing with a group of high school friends, playing softball, even out hiking with her dad.

"You were a very gawky teenager, Hols," Gail commented.

Holly frowned at her, "Thanks Babe," she muttered.

"Just saying!" Gail shrugged and she held up a shot of Holly and two friends posing by a huge Christmas tree in a mall of some sort. Holly towered over the other girls and she looked as thin as rake.

"I had very long legs as a fourteen year old. It took a while for the rest of me to catch up," Holly said, cringing at the picture.

Gail started to open some of the wallets and skimmed through them, sniggering as she went. Holly shook her head, knowing she was going to regret caving in to the blonde and letting her see some of her old pictures. To be fair, although Gail had looked mortified when Elaine bought out the album earlier, she hadn't complained too much, so Holly decided to be a good sport about it and let Gail get on with it.

"Who's this?" Gail asked suddenly, waving a photo in front of Holly's nose. The picture was a close up of Holly with her arms wrapped round another brunette, both of them grinning up at the camera with their cheeks pressed together.

Holly looked over her glasses at the photo, and winced, "That would be my ex girlfriend, Jules," she told the blonde. Gail's lip curled, but she didn't say anything, simply continuing to flip through the packet of photos. Holly watched her girlfriend for any sign of a reaction, wondering if jealous Gail was about to make an appearance. "That was taken seven or eight years ago. We drove down to Niagara that week, stayed for a few days..." she said conversationally.

"Yeah. I can see," was Gail's short reply, as she briefly flashed a photo of the same girl in front of the famous waterfall. Gail continued to look at the Niagara photos, checking each one carefully before finally reaching the end of the roll. She shoved them back into the wallet. "I don't like her," she stated flatly.

"I would stay away from any of those other yellow wallets then maybe," Holly said, suppressing a smile.

Gail tossed the yellows to one side and gazed at some of the single photos she uncovered, which appeared to be of Holly aged eleven or twelve with her brother at a Maple Leafs game. Holly went back to the journal, but was soon interrupted again.

"Prom!" yelled Gail excitedly, as she read the front of a blue photo wallet.

Holly groaned and dropped the journal over her face. "I don't like you right now," she said from under the paper.

Gail grinned happily at her and pulled the stack of photos from the wallet, silently betting herself ten dollars that these were going to be priceless. She stopped short at the first sight of Holly in a midnight blue ball gown, her hair pinned up on top of her head with soft tendrils falling around her face. This young woman couldn't be further away from the slightly awkward teenager of three of four years earlier. "Oh wow, Hols. Stunning," she said softly.

"Urgh," Holly grunted, still hiding under her research article.

"No, seriously," Gail insisted. "You look incredible in these." She flipped through the first few individual shots, and some of Holly with her parents, before stopping again when a young man appeared. "Hey, is this your date?" she asked, stretching up to pull the sheaf of papers from Holly's face.

"Yep. Mark Lyons. He was a really good guy actually," Holly said, smiling at the picture.

"He's cute," Gail observed. "So were you dating, dating him, or just Prom dating him?" she asked curiously. She hadn't really spoken to Holly about boyfriends before.

Holly turned her smile on her girlfriend, amused that Gail hadn't seemed to take an instant dislike to Mark in the same way she had with Jules. She took the photo from Gail and explained, "Mark was my best friend in high school. We did date for a little while when we were around sixteen, kind of because we got along so well that it felt like the next natural step, you know? But it never felt right for either of us, so we ended up just being friends,"

"Friends with an ex? Never a good idea, Lunchbox," Gail said. "So how did you end up going to Prom with him then, if you were just friends?" She continued scanning through the photos, smirking at one of Holly and Mark pulling a ridiculous face at the camera.

"Well, neither of us were dating anyone around Prom time. To be honest, as I got a little older, I began to realise that I was gay, probably around the end of high school. Mark was one of the few people I spoke to about it. And he was so cool about it all; he really helped me through it, though I still never came out until college. Anyway, we decided that as neither of us were attached, and neither of us had our eye on anyone to ask, we'd have far more fun if we went together. Who did you go with?"

"Oh God, Jason Bouchard," Gail replied, looking absolutely disgusted. "He smuggled in a bottle of rum, spiked the punch, got drunk and tried to feel me up on the dance floor. I kicked him in the nuts and broke the heel off my shoe. And he wasn't as hot as your Mark," she said with a pout.

"Teenage dramas, hey?" Holly smiled ruefully. "Mark and I both spent most of Prom gawping at the same girl!"

Gail reached the last of the collection of Prom photos, and pushed them back into their wallet. "Never mind Hols. I bet half the boys in that hall, and probably a few of the girls were checking you out that night. Looking this fantastic, you'd have strolled in and heads would have turned. No more gawky teenager, right?!"

"Oh I felt gawky, believe me. I spent the whole night fiddling with my dress. When Prom was finished, Mark and I got changed into our jeans and climbed onto the roof of his parents' house to look at the stars," Holly told her.

"Nerd," Gail replied, rolling her eyes. Holly simply nodded in agreement, picking up her journal article again and waving it in Gail's direction. She noticed the blonde go back to the box and start to sifting through another batch of photos, before becoming immersed in her reading once again.

Gail held up a single photo of a tiny toddler, sat in a washing basket and pointing up at the camera. She glanced back and forth between the picture and the woman in front of her, trying to see Holly's features in her childish face. As a baby, Holly had huge eyes that were the same deep brown as they were now, and Gail could even spot the half smile that she sort of considered Holly's trademark. It was stupid, but she was fascinated by this box of photos, and all that she could learn from it. Seeing her beautiful girlfriend grow and change was amazing; it almost felt like Gail had known her longer and knew her better. And some of these were just so damn cute as well; this next one of Holly and her mom sharing a fierce hug for instance. Gail suddenly had an image of Holly one day holding her own young daughter like this flash through her mind, and an unexpected warmth spread through her body. She felt her face flush, and quickly set the toddler photo aside.

As Gail lifted more snapshots of young Holly out of the box, she spotted a large brown envelope buried at the bottom of the crate. She pulled it free, and flipped over the flap at the top to peer inside. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Oh my God!" she shrieked.

"Hmm? What?" Holly asked distractedly, still reading her research paper.

"Holly Stewart, you keep porn in your box of treasured childhood memories!" Gail exclaimed in a high pitched tone, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised. She stared at her girlfriend, waiting for an explanation.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Oh my God!" she shrieked._

_"Hmm? What?" Holly asked distractedly, still reading her research paper._

_"Holly Stewart, you keep porn in your box of treasured childhood memories!" Gail exclaimed in a high pitched tone, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised. She stared at her girlfriend, waiting for an explanation._

"What?" Holly said again, loudly, snapping her head round to face Gail.

Gail cackled at the look on Holly's face. "Oh you are so busted. So, so busted!" she said delightedly, waving the envelope around her head.

"What are you talking about, Gail?" Holly tried again, but Gail wasn't paying much attention to her girlfriend's question.

"Oh my God," she said again. "You are such a lesbian cliché! You're like teenage boy. What else have you got under your bed? Girly magazines? Mucky playing cards?!" She peeked into the envelope again and set off into peals of laughter once more.

"Gail Peck!" Holly interrupted her sharply. "I have no idea what you are talking about. What the hell is in that envelope?" Holly made a grab for the offending article, but Gail was too quick for her, rocking back out of reach.

"No way, Nerd. I'm taking this into custody. It may be used in evidence against you,"

Holly narrowed her eyes, and stared at Gail. She genuinely couldn't think what was in that envelope, but she was sure it wasn't anything that could be described as porn. Holly had never been one for taking racy photos...at least, certainly not in the days where you had to go and get the films developed! Gail spotted the look on her girlfriends face and thought she had better stop teasing before Holly bust a blood vessel. She opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. "It's a calendar Hols. A pin up calendar, full of half naked girls dressed as doctors!" Gail showed the front of the A3 sized card to Holly, displaying the glossy picture of four women wrapped in lab coats, wearing stiletto heels and stethoscopes round their necks. The text splashed across the top read McGill Med School: Sexy Docs 2005. She flipped through the first couple of months, whistling softly.

Holly relaxed. "Oh, that? Ok. That is hardly porn, Gail," she told the blonde, slightly exasperated after all that build up.

Gail looked up from her examination of Miss February, who was sprawled across a bed wearing nothing but a corset and a blood pressure monitor cuffed to her arm.

"Holly, these women aren't wearing anything. It's pretty close to porn!"

"You're such an ass," Holly replied, shaking her head.

"I know," Gail agreed. "Come on though Lunchbox, give us the story. Why is this old calendar in your box of photos? McGill is where you went to school, right?"

Holly leaned forward and pulled the old calendar from Gail's grasp. She closed the pages, and smiled at the memories. She turned the calendar over and showed Gail the back page, before settling herself against the headboard and starting her story.

"When I started med school, one of the group of friends I hung round with was a guy called Pete Williams. He was a nice guy; really smart but laid back. We used to go running together because he was training for the marathon. Anyway, halfway through first year he got sick. Started missing a lot of school and wound up in hospital. Eventually he was diagnosed with Leukaemia," Holly sighed.

"Shit," Gail said, softly. Still knelt on the floor, she stretched out a hand and squeezed Holly's thigh through the sheet.

Holly gave her a sad smile, "Shit indeed. Pete had a load of treatment, and it went up and down. He never managed the marathon, but he came back to school for a bit. He started doing some fundraising for a cancer charity, stupid stuff like getting us to bet on what his next blood count would be. A few of us ran the marathon in his place, and he turned up to cheer us on dressed as Dr Frankenstein. Soon after he started getting worse, and went back to hospital. We'd visit him as much as we could; he would even make us take our lecture notes and talk him through them. But twelve months after he was diagnosed, midway through our second year, we lost him." Holly's face reflected how reliving the loss still keenly affected her.

"I'm so sorry, Hols," Gail whispered.

"Thank you," Holly replied. She gestured towards the calendar. "Pete's parents set up a charity foundation in his name, all proceeds split between cancer research and an academic grant fund for med students in financial hardship. So everyone in our class decided to do something to help raise some money. We eventually came up with the idea of charity calendars to sell around Campus. It became sort of a competition because the boys and the girls each did a separate one, and we were all trying to outsell each other. In the end, we raised a lorry load of cash for the foundation. Pete would have been thrilled."

"Wow," Gail remarked, and let her fingers trail over the face of the smiling young man whose photograph adorned the back page. She read aloud the text below; "In loving memory of our friend, Peter James Williams, 1981-2004. The world has missed out on a fantastic doctor, but in his honour, we can help support many more."

Holly nodded. "Some of us still run the marathon for him, every year. It's a fantastic cause, and a good way of remembering him,"

"And so is keeping the calendar," Gail said, now seeing why Holly had kept hold of this.

"Of course. And actually, we had a lot of fun making it and trying to beat the boys. I don't think I'd ever laughed so much in all my life than we did those few weeks, even though we were all devastated. So this always reminds me of that too," Holly told her.

"Holly, I'm not surprised you had fun making this. Can I point out again; it is a set of photographs of scantily clad women!" Gail joked, in an effort to dispel the sombre tone that had settled over them.

"Well, it had its moments..." Holly replied, blushing slightly.

"You've gone red, Lunchbox!" Gail noticed. "What's making you blush?"

"Nothing, nothing at all!" came the response, but Gail could see her girlfriend trying to hide a smirk. She wondered what Holly could be shy about; Gail knew from painful experience that Holly wasn't easily embarrassed. In fact, she only ever really saw the brunette flush when she was aroused...suddenly, the obvious explanation came to her.

"Holly! You liked one of these girls, didn't you?" she accused the woman sitting on the bed who was now trying to hide her blushing with the research article once more.

"What? No, Gail!" Holly denied it immediately, but the high pitch of her voice told Gail she was being untruthful.

"You did! You had the hots for one of them! That's why you've kept this; tucked away under your bed, it's like a little candle lit for the girl that got away. The one you dreamed of throughout your long hours of med school study, your first love, the sexy doctor friend you had to admire from afar..." Gail's rapturous musings were then rudely interrupted by a pillow bouncing off her head.

Holly shrugged at her. "You just had to stop talking."

"There are better ways of getting me to shut up you know," Gail mumbled, before turning her attention back to the pages in her hand. "Anyway, come on Stewart, which one is it?"

Gail started to flip through the pages, examining the photos to try and work out which girl was Holly's secret crush. "Not January, she's a bit serious. Miss February is way too obvious. March is a possibility; we all know you have a weakness for sexy blondes..." Gail's pondering was cut short as Holly tried to make a grab for the calendar.

"Hey, I'm busy here! Go and get your own pin ups!" she told her girlfriend.

"Gail, you don't really want to look at all of it, it's just stupid photos of a bunch idiotic students messing about in their underwear," Holly pleaded, looking decidedly nervous in Gail's opinion.

"I like underwear!" Gail claimed. "Ooooh, and I like Miss April! More my type than yours though Hols." She turned the page once more, and said "Now let's check out May -" before her sentence cut off abruptly.

Holly groaned, and watched her girlfriend's jaw drop. Gail's pale face flooded with colour, and her eyes looked as big as saucers. The blonde glanced up at Holly, then back down to the photo filling the May calendar page. A slow smile spread across her face. She looked straight at Holly once more and whispered, "Well hello there, Miss May,"

Holly pulled a face and ruefully replied, "Hi."

Gail couldn't help but stare back at the calendar shot in front of her. Holly was stood next to a lab bench, leaning slightly over a microscope but looking directly at the camera. Her hair was loose and hung tousled across her shoulders, and she had the slightest hint of makeup on. She wore a long white lab coat that draped open to reveal the black lacy underwear underneath; bra, panties and best of all, stockings and suspenders that ran down Holly's long, long legs to a pair of killer heels. Gail's mouth ran dry.

Concerned at the lack of speech from her girlfriend, and assuming Gail was a little shocked about the fact she was in a sexy calendar, Holly started to talk, "It was a long time ago, and I didn't really think about it, I just went for it. I wouldn't do it now with the internet and everything, and it's lucky no-one has ever uploaded this – I don't think work would find it funny. I guess it was only ever students that bought them; they probably got put in the trash in December. We did get in a bit of trouble with the University, but they let us off eventually, as it was for Pete and for charity..."

"Lunchbox," Gail interjected. "Shut up." She placed the calendar to one side and heaved the green box off the bed. Gail climbed up and knelt over Holly, looking down at her. "I think this is maybe the sexiest thing I have ever seen," she murmured, huskily.

"Uh...thanks," Holly replied, watching the lust darken her girlfriend's blue eyes.

"I don't recall lab coats being that short or tight though?" Gail noted.

"That one was modified somewhat..." Holly explained.

Gail nodded, still smouldering down at Holly. "Do you have a lab coat here?" she asked.

Holly swallowed and took a sharp intake of breath. Not trusting herself to speak, she simply nodded in response.

"Go get it," Gail ordered, not breaking eye contact. "I want to see the real thing."

Holly stared straight at Gail, and paused for several heart beats, allowing the electricity to build between their gaze. As soon as she could no longer bear the intensity, she shot up from the bed, and crashed her lips into Gail's in a fast but passionate kiss. Before the blonde could touch her, she leapt off the bed and strode out of the room in search of her lab coat. She was pretty sure she had some black stockings tucked away somewhere too...

**A/N This story actually has another chapter to it, but I will have to upload that tomorrow as my pc seems to be playing up tonight. Still, that give everyone the chance to use their imagination and fill in the "what happens next", right?! Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**7 months later...**

"Good morning, Doctor Stewart!" Gail said cheerfully, as her girlfriend walked into the kitchen. She passed the brunette a cup of coffee and kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning Officer Peck," Holly replied, blinking her still sleepy eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" Gail asked, casually stirring her own coffee. She smiled brightly at the brunette.

Holly was instantly suspicious. It was very early in the morning. Gail was certainly not a morning person. But today she seemed full of energy; almost as if she was excited about something. "Yes, thank you," she answered the question, studying the blonde closely. Gail simply lifted her eyebrows, as if she was querying why Holly was staring at her.

"What's happened?" Holly asked bluntly.

"What do you mean Babe?" Gail replied in an overly sweet tone

"You're hiding something by being nice to me. What have you broken?"

"Holly! I'm deeply offended that you would think that! Can't a girl just be nice to her awesome girlfriend for no reason, other than because she loves her deeply?" Gail put her hand to her face in mock horror.

"You're being all...I don't know...chirpy!" Holly said, still suspicious. "You are never chirpy. Gail Peck and chirpy do not go together. You and chirpy are like potassium and water." The pathologist sipped her coffee and tried to read the expression on Gail's face. When Gail was on an early shift like today, Holly usually had to drag her out of bed, and yet here she was, fully dressed and ready for work. Something was definitely up.

"Chirpy?" Gail asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Chirpy," Holly repeated in a firm voice.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," was the simple response.

Holly watched as Gail turned her focus back to her breakfast, which was some kind of weird sugary cereal. Holly was pretty sure there was some sort of biscuit floating round in the bowl too, much to her dismay. She didn't really want to think about that. Gail was studiously avoiding Holly's gaze, staring intently at her cereal but Holly could see the tightened muscles in her jaw that suggested she was fighting the urge to grin. Well if Gail had her secrets, then that was fine. Holly was pretty sure she could persuade her to share later on, with a few well chosen and potentially underhand tactics. She moved past her girlfriend towards the fridge, opened the door and grabbed a box of eggs. As she shut the door, she turned slightly and that was when she spotted what Gail had been up to. Holly stopped dead in absolute horror.

"You can't be serious, Gail," she said, feeling the heat spread across her cheeks.

Gail couldn't hold in her laughter any longer. "Happy May 1st, Doc!" she yelled.

Holly's mouth opened, but no words came out. Directly opposite her, pinned to the kitchen wall precisely at eye level was her old charity calendar, opened at the month of May where she could see her own photograph staring sultrily out into the kitchen. She tore her eyes away from it and looked over at her girlfriend who was still giggling manically. Gail looked extremely pleased with herself.

"No," Holly said. "No way."

"Hols..." Gail began, but Holly wasn't going to let her argue.

"Gail Peck, there is no way that is hanging on our wall,"

"But Holly, I've been waiting months to put this up!" Gail said.

"No!" Holly repeated.

"But you look mega hot in this picture!"

"Obviously. But that is beside the point!" Holly exclaimed.

"Please?" asked Gail, fluttering her eyelashes at Holly in an attempt to be endearing.

Holly folded her arms across her chest and tried the stern look she always used on her interns. "No," she said.

Unfortunately, it seemed Gail was immune to Holly's best threatening glare. "Why not?" she fired back, folding her own arms to imitate her girlfriend.

"Because I really don't want to be staring at my own..." Holly briefly groped around her mind for a suitable word, "...assets when I'm eating my breakfast!"

Gail laughed delightedly, and stepped quickly over to Holly, throwing her arms around her. "But they're beautiful assets!" she said, trying to nuzzle Holly's throat.

Holly pushed her back, shaking her head. "You can't get around me that easily, Peck. I'm taking it down!" she said, moving towards the offending article. Her path was blocked by her girlfriend's body, stepping in front of the calendar as if shielding a crime scene. Gail drew herself up to her full height.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Ma'am," she told Holly, in a serious tone. "Please stand back, this is an official Police cordon."

"You are utterly ludicrous," Holly informed her. She stood facing her girlfriend, trying to think of a way round the current impasse.

"I know," Gail agreed affably. She placed her hands on Holly's shoulders and kissed her gently on the lips. "Come on Holly. I love that picture. I dream about that picture! Just think how happy I would be if you let me keep it up for the month; it's only thirty one days. And you know it turns me on..." She kissed Holly again, this time far more deeply, making sure her lips lingered.

Holly groaned softly as she kissed her girlfriend back. She couldn't deny there may be some fringe benefits of allowing Gail to have the calendar shot up on the wall. Even so, there was something very weird about having a photo of yourself in your underwear displayed in your kitchen. Or any other room for that matter. Pulling away from Gail, she pulled out the last objection she could think of. "But the days are wrong – today is not Sunday," she said.

"Holly, I couldn't give a flying fishcake about the days. It's the artwork I'm interested in!" Gail replied. "Look, if it bothers you that much, I'll take it down,"

"Thank you!" Holly sighed in relief.

"No problem. I'll just take it down from here and put it up in the locker room at work. I'm sure the other girls will enjoy it too; Tracy has always agreed with me that you're a knockout hottie. " Gail explained.

"Argh!" groaned Holly. She gave up. "Fine. If it makes you happy, you can keep it on the wall this month. But if we have visitors, it goes in the drawer. And you owe me, big time!"

Gail's face split into a wide grin and she actually squealed with excitement. She grabbed Holly once more and folded her into a tight hug. "I will definitely make it worth your while Hols," she told her girlfriend, "but right now, I've got to go to work." Gail dropped a quick kiss onto Holly's mouth before heading for the door.

"Let's hope I don't get the urge to destroy the damn thing whilst you're out," Holly mumbled to herself, but Gail heard her.

"You've kept it under your bed for ten years Holls, and it's a tribute to your old friend. You won't destroy it," she said, confidently. "Besides, I made copies. Love you, bye" she called, as she skipped out the door.

Holly rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's antics. "Love you too, you idiot," she yelled, as the door slammed behind the blonde. Holly looked back at the calendar. She didn't regret doing it all those years ago, and she was secretly kind of thrilled about the fact that Gail loved the shot so much. And she did look pretty hot, even if she did say so herself! It was just the sheer ridiculousness of having a ten year old calendar hung on the wall just because Gail enjoyed looking at her girlfriend in her underwear. But she had learnt pretty quickly to expect a fair amount of craziness living with Gail; and after all, that was one of the reasons Holly loved her.

As Holly dropped her eggs into some boiling water to make her breakfast, her phone bleeped. It was a text from Gail.

'Five dollars a day for thirty one days. It is so worth it! Xxx'

As Holly read the message, a second one came through, with a picture attached. It showed Gail's receipt for a $155 donation to the Peter Williams Foundation. Holly smiled. Gestures like that? Just one of the many other reasons.


	4. Chapter 4

**Seven years later...**

It was strange how you got used to certain things, Holly thought to herself as she leant up against the fridge, sipping a beer. She started hard at the empty space on the kitchen wall. Today was the first of May, and on this date for the past eight years she had been used to seeing that particular space on the wall occupied by her old med school calendar. This morning she had strolled down the stairs expecting to see it already displayed, because Gail had been up hours before her for an early shift. But the wall had been bare at eight am, and it was still bare now eleven hours later.

So that was weird, and it was also weird that Holly found herself a bit disappointed at its absence. She has always found it a little uncomfortable to have that sort of shot of herself on display, and over the years the calendar had actually been the source of many an embarrassing moment. It seemed that they always forgot to take it down when they had people around.

First there had been that time when Gail's friends had come round for dinner, and Holly had walked into the kitchen to find Chris and Dov checking her out. They seemed to be having a heated discussion about whether Miss May or Miss June had the better body, and upon seeing Holly had immediately asked her opinion. Holly's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out...and then Gail appeared. When asked the same question, she immediately punched both of the boys in the arm, and told them to keep their eyes off her girlfriend. Utterly mortified, Chris had tried to explain that they hadn't noticed it was Holly; but his reasoning that 'They hadn't exactly been looking at her face' made a bad situation worse. And then of course, Tracy, Andy, Chloe and all the rest of the gang had to have a look too. It took weeks before Holly could look any of them in the eye again.

Even worse had been the year where Holly's parents had bought her granddad to Toronto to visit. His uproarious laughter had simply made the look of shock on her parents' faces even more embarrassing. Then there was the time Leo had asked why Aunty Holly had no clothes on in her photo in the kitchen - in front on his school teacher. Not to mention the grin on the face of the plumber who had come to fix the leaking sink one year – he wasn't grinning quite so widely when Holly rejected his rather seedy proposition by dropping a wrench on his toe.

Yes, the calendar had been the bane of her life on many occasions. But as much as she had wished that Gail had never found it, or that it could accidentally get recycled, now that it wasn't here, Holly actually found she missed it. She couldn't deny that there had been some benefits to the stupid thing; Gail was certainly very attentive in May for one! And it was an undeniable ego boost that Gail thought the picture was so sexy; particularly the time when the police officer was perving so much on the photograph that she burnt her toast. Not to mention the fact that it was just simply fun; the silly banter the two of them shared over it and even the mad rush to hide it when Elaine popped by unexpectedly. It had become one of their family traditions; a ludicrous tradition of course, but a tradition nonetheless.

Could Gail have forgotten, Holly wondered? It seemed unlikely. The calendar was ceremoniously hung carefully on the kitchen wall every year, and Gail had already started teasing Holly about it a couple of weeks ago. Maybe she had just decided not to put it up this year. That photo was now well over fifteen years old, and Holly had changed since it was taken, particularly over the last couple of years. She sighed, and looked down at her own body. She was definitely no longer the lithe and carefree twenty three year old she thought critically. On the other hand, she still didn't do too badly in the sexiness stakes...in her opinion. But maybe Gail thought differently and didn't want to compare the two contrasting images of her wife too closely?

As she pondered that depressing thought, the object of her musings charged down the stairs. Gail stopped short when she noticed Holly standing there, before moving forward and giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Hey, you're home!" she said. "How was your day?"

"Busy, but good. All settled upstairs?" Holly replied, still a little distracted.

"Yep. And seen as you asked, my day was crap," Gail said in a matter of fact manner. She nudged Holly away from the fridge so she could grab her own beer.

"Oh really? Why's that?" Holly asked.

Gail looked at her. "I am depressed Holly. Today is May 1st, which happens to be my favourite day of the year, and I am depressed," she gestured at the wall and grimaced.

"Better than Christmas?" Holly asked, in disbelief.

"Infinitely," was Gail's serious response. She moved through to the living area and flopped down onto the sofa.

Holly followed, curious about what was bugging her wife. It seemed like there was a definite reason the calendar wasn't in its usual place. She sat down next to Gail, and patted her leg. "I did notice you hadn't put your calendar up," she said, prompting the explanation.

"Your calendar, not mine," Gail corrected.

"I think that as you're the one who now keeps it in her bedside drawer and always makes sure it goes up on the wall every year, we can safely call it yours," Holly pointed out.

"Whatever,"

"Whatever yourself. So, why isn't it up?" Holly asked.

"I got up this morning, and I made my donation as always. I was just about to go fetch Sexy Doc, but then I realised," Gail sighed dramatically and took a long pull on her beer.

Holly waited expectantly, but when Gail continued to nurse her drink rather than continue the story, she prodded her wife in the ribs. "What?" she demanded.

Gail turned to look at Holly and extended her arm to point straight at the ceiling. Holly raised her eyebrows. God, she loved her, but her wife could be so infuriating. Bored of actually voicing the question, she lifted her own hands and flicked them outwards in the universal sign for what the heck are you talking about?

"It's his fault," Gail said, darkly.

"Right," Holly said. "How exactly? Or should I go and ask him myself, because I feel like it might be quicker?"

"He's two years old Holly! Our son is now walking, talking and fully aware of his surroundings. We can't put half naked photos of his mother on the kitchen wall! What if he asks questions? What if it scars him for life? What if he tells that weird woman at the day care centre!?" Gail's agitation was clear to see, but Holly couldn't help herself. She began to laugh.

"It's not funny Nerdface!"Gail whined. "He's spoilt my fun!"

Holly looked at her wife's mournful expression and continued to laugh, even as she threw her arm round Gail's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Baby," she said contritely. "But you have to admit, it is a little funny. You're blaming a toddler for ruining your fun. Next thing we know, you'll be accusing him of stealing your toys,"

"If he's not old enough for sexy calendars, he's definitely not old for enough for the Playstation," Gail replied, in a horrified voice.

Holly pressed a kiss to her wife's cheek and dropped her head onto her shoulder. "Not just yet," she agreed amiably. "But you're probably right. It is a little inappropriate to have the calendar up with a child in the house,"

"Tracy and Oliver thought so too," Gail said.

"Who else did you ask?" Holly said, a little perturbed that this seemed to have been a group decision.

"No-one. The boys would tell me it's fine, and McNally and Price would have had a four hour discussion about it," Gail told her.

"Well it's had a good run. Eight years on display rather than tucked away in the box, that's not bad. Perhaps it's best that Sexy Doctor Stewart retires gracefully before her present day self becomes too far removed from the fantasy woman?" Holly said, her insecurity from earlier resurfacing. She tensed, and Gail immediately felt it against her side.

Gail used the palm of her hand to lift Holly's cheek from her shoulder and look her squarely in the eye. "What are you talking about, Hols?" she asked.

Holly refused to meet her wife's gaze. "When I saw it wasn't up on the wall earlier, I kind of thought you'd decided it was time to put it away for good. That photo is seventeen years old, and I'm forty. I'm not really a pin up girl anymore Gail," she said sadly. Gail stared at her in complete disbelief.

"Holly Stewart, you look at me," Gail said sternly, gripping Holly's shoulders. "You are the most beautiful, sexy, captivating and fascinating woman I have ever met. You were at twenty three when that picture was taken, you were at thirty two when I met you, at thirty seven when I married you and you are now at forty. I might like to spend some of May admiring the younger Holly, but I spend the rest of the year shamelessly ogling the real life version. And if I can't put up my calendar, then I'll miss it, but I'll be quite happy appreciating you instead," she leaned forward and kissed her wife soundly on the lips, trying to convey the same depth of feeling with her kiss as she had with her words.

Holly gripped the back of Gail's head and returned the kiss soundly. "You, Detective Stewart, have quite the silver tongue when you put your mind to it!" she said softly as she pulled away.

"I've been learning these past few years," Gail grinned back at her.

"Mmm. You have. Thank you," Holly said sincerely, giving her wife another quick kiss. "I needed to hear that."

"Anytime, Nerd. Now are you going upstairs to see your son, as you missed out on bedtime?" Gail asked.

"Yes! Of course I am! I was on my way ten minutes ago before you distracted me with your tales of misery and woe!" Holly said indignantly.

"Get gone then. I'll have a look and see what we've got to eat," Gail stated, jumping up from the sofa and pulling Holly with her. As the brunette turned away, Gail slapped her backside playfully.

Holly turned back her head to stare hard at Gail, "Brownie points well and truly lost, Babe, well and truly lost," she told her seriously.

"We'll see," Gail replied, and winked cheekily as Holly padded quietly up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, Gail had already eaten a good portion of the cold chicken that she had found in the fridge and was starting to wonder what was keeping her wife? As cute as their boy was when he was sleeping, this would still be an awful long time to spend staring at him. She hoped Holly wasn't up there worrying about herself again. She couldn't believe that her wife had honestly thought Gail hadn't put up the old calendar because she thought Holly no longer compared. Nothing could be further than the truth.

Deciding to go check on her, Gail turned off the heat underneath the pasta she was cooking. She headed up the stairs and walked into their son's room, but the boy was sleeping soundly and his mother was nowhere to be seen. Gail scowled when she noticed the ferocious looking stuffed tiger sitting on a chair in the corner, and moved him back to his rightful place on the bed. Satisfied, she blew a kiss towards the bed and left the room, silently pulling the door closed until it was almost shut. She walked into the master bedroom, noticing the dimmed lights but there was still no sign of Holly. "Holls?" she called out softly, not wanting to wake the sleeping toddler next door. She heard the door of the en-suite bathroom click open and turned to face her wife. She took a sharp intake of breath and it felt as though her heart had stopped.

Holly was stood in the doorway, leaning slightly against the doorframe. Gail's eyes travelled slowly upwards, taking in the high heeled shoes, the black stockings, suspender belt, panties and lacy bra. She noticed the way Holly's short lab coat hung off her shoulders and how her glasses were pushed slightly down her nose.

"I thought you were never going to come and find me," Holly said.

Gail opened her mouth, but couldn't think of a smart reply. Her brain wasn't exactly functioning properly right now. "Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself," Holly replied, with a lazy grin.

"You're beautiful," Gail said the first thing that came into her head, still struggling to connect her brain to her mouth as the only thing she could concentrate on at the moment was the sight in front of her.

"Thank you," came Holly's response. "I thought that as you couldn't have your calendar up on the wall, I'd bring the real thing back for a special appearance. You know, to help you get over your depression."

Gail took a step towards her wife, her eyes still roaming over Holly's body. "What calendar? What depression?" she asked, thoroughly distracted.

Holly walked slowly across the room to meet Gail, her hips swaying sultrily. She stepped in as close as she could to the blonde without actually allowing their bodies to touch, placed her hands either side of Gail's face and kissed her delicately. Gail felt Holly's lips caress her own and she moaned deep in her throat. She pushed herself towards Holly, closing the last inch between them and slipped her hands under the white coat, running them up Holly's sides and back. As the kiss became more intense, Holly slipped her tongue across Gail's bottom lip and Gail opened her mouth eagerly. She felt Holly's breath quicken, and she moved one hand over Holly's lace covered rear and down her thigh. She used one finger to hook under one of the elastic suspenders, and traced it's path down Holly's leg. Holly's palm was now against the small of Gail's back and she pulled her in tighter so that their hips met.

Gail tried to take the opportunity of being more closely entwined to try and push her wife backwards towards the bed, but Holly resisted. She pulled her mouth away from Gail's lips and whispered raggedly, "Look inside the wardrobe door,".

Gail inhaled deeply, catching her breath. "What?" she asked, confused about whether she has missed something in her excitement. "I'm all for trying new things with you Holly, but that seems a little weird even for you..."

Holly placed two hands on Gail's chest and shoved her gently, "Just do it, idiot," she said.

Gail walked over to the wardrobe; a little unsteadily it has to be said, though she tried not to let Holly see that. She opened the door, and couldn't help but chuckle. Pinned to the back of the door was the old Sexy Docs calendar, opened to the May page as always. Gail turned to face her wife.

"Now who's ridiculous?" she asked, grinning.

"Me," Holly shrugged, smiling back. "But I figured that you could have another few years of it hanging here, until the little monster is tall enough to reach the door handles,"

"You're the best!" Gail said.

"I know," Holly replied. "And the new location has the added bonus of not being available for Chris or Dov or any of your other lunatic friends dropping by randomly in May to sneak a peak at the damn thing,"

"Errr, please can you not mention those guys right now Lunchbox? Because I thought we were in the middle of something, and you will put me off," Gail closed the door and arched her eyebrows at Holly. Her wife simply crooked a finger, and beckoned Gail over.

Gail pulled her shirt over her head as she moved back across the room, and smiled in satisfaction as Holly's eyes widened. She took her wife into her arms and toppled onto the bed with her. "Come on, Miss May. Let's see what you've got under that coat of yours," she murmured...


End file.
